If a wife works and her husband stays at home, are 집사람 and 바깥분 still appropriate for "wife" and "husband" respectively?

Question

Have the 'inside-person' and 'outside-person' meanings of 집사람 and 바깥분 faded sufficiently that they still mean 'wife' and 'husband' in all cases? If someone is a house husband, might it seem like making fun of him to call him a 바깥분? Would calling a woman with a high-powered job a 집사람 seem ironic?

Answer 1

Hi there,

The word 집사람 literally translates into "inside-person" which is used to address the woman who stays inside of the home as a house wife.

The word 바깥분 translates into "outside-person," however 분 is a way to address someone respectfully and honorably, which in this case is used to honor the male member of the house who works to support the family financially.

If the male member of the house is a stay home husband, they would not use the word 집사람 to address him and 바깥분 to address the working wife.

Family dynamics in Korea have changed and it is more common to find working wives and husbands nowadays. However, the word 집사람 is still commonly used to address the wife even if she works as this word has been used to address the wife for such a long time.

And as Korean culture is still male dominant and puts importance in gender hierarchy, calling the working wife as 바깥분 and the stay home husband as 집사람 could be seen insulting to the husband.

Instead, often times people use 아내, 와이프 or 누구(kid's name) 엄마 to call the wife

and 남편, 신랑 or 누구(kid's name) 아빠 to call the husband.

I hope this helps!

Da Ye